in fine fettle

English

WOTD – 30 June 2023

Etymology

From in + fine (“of superior quality”) + fettle (“state of physical condition”).^[1] Fettle is derived from Late Middle English fetlen (“(verb) to bestow; to fix, prepare, put in place; to prepare (oneself) for battle, gird up; to shape; to be about to, or to ready (oneself), to stay; (adjective) shaped (well or poorly)”) [and other forms],^[2] possibly from Old English fetel (“belt, girdle, fettle”),^[3] from Proto-Germanic *fatilaz; further etymology unknown.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪn ˌfaɪn ˈfɛtl̩/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ɪn ˌfaɪn ˈfɛt(ə)l/, [-ɾ(ə)l]
Rhymes: -ɛtəl
Hyphenation: in fine fet‧tle

Prepositional phrase

in fine fettle

In good condition; energetic, fit.
Synonym: fit as a fiddle
- 1979, Douglas Hofstadter, “Crab Canon”, in Gödel, Escher, Bach‎^[1], →ISBN, page 199:
  Tortoise: [Y]ou're looking in very fine fettle these days, I must say.
  Achilles: Thank you very much.

Usage notes

Also used with other words in place of fine, such as in good fettle and in high fettle.

Translations

in good condition — see also fit

French: frais comme l’œil (fr) (literally “fresh as the eye”)
Macedonian: во до́бра со́стојба (vo dóbra sóstojba)
Spanish: en plenas condiciones

References

^ Compare “(to be) in (good, high, etc.) fettle” under “fettle, n.²”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2023; “fettle, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
^ “fetlen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
^ “fettle, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2023; “fettle, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.